Donald Koch, Barre Town, is seeking a Washington District seat in the Vermont Senate. He said that he is “an ordinary working Vermonter who is fed up with the ‘pie-in-the-sky’ legislation that the Democrat supermajority has foisted on the state over Governor Scott’s vetoes.” He added that “Vermont’s young people are fleeing the state, because they can’t afford to live here any longer, and it’s time to use some common sense in legislating.”
Koch is a lifelong resident of Barre Town, a graduate of Spaulding High School and Johnson State College. He spent a year at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia considering a call to the ministry, but determined that his true calling was in active lay membership in a congregation. Since 2015, he has owned and operated Cedarbrook Trucking, a long-haul trucking company working out of Barre.
Among the issues that Koch sees front and center this year are property tax reform, the fate of the so-called “Affordable Heat Act,” and issues concerning crime and punishment.
Koch said that this year’s 14% average increase in property taxes has been a long time coming, should have been no surprise, is not a one-time event, and is unsustainable into the future.
“Education tax reform is the critical issue of the year, but the Democrat supermajority — including the three Washington District senators — have done nothing but set up a study committee that will write a useless report that nobody will pay any attention to. The Legislature itself, must give this issue first priority, and a good start would be by examining the way the other 49 states fund their education systems, most without the problems Vermont has,” he pointed out.
“As to the Affordable Heat Act, we now have an official estimate that it will cost Vermont buyers of heating fuel $9.3 billion over the next 24 years, which means a price increase of about $4.00 per gallon! Vermonters cannot afford this, and this fantasy cure for climate change must be killed. I will vote no on the question of allowing this program to take effect,” he added.
During the campaign, Koch is releasing a series of position papers detailing his stance on issues, because he believes that voters have the right to know what their candidates believe. Those position papers can all be accessed on Koch’s website, DonaldKochforVT.org.
